A wolf was seen on a Vail Pass camera near I-70. Here’s what it means.

One of the wolves reintroduced in Colorado was spotted by a camera on Vail Pass last month, offering the first documented wolf activity in the area and perhaps the first publicly-shared images of a wolf in close proximity to I-70.

The camera is one of 30 belonging to the Colorado Corridors Project , a joint venture between the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Wild and the Denver Zoo’s Conservation Alliance that studies locations for potential wildlife crossings, and is located within a quarter-mile of the interstate.

Rocky Mountain Wild and the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance

The clearest photo is from June 22 and shows the wolf running near the camera. The same wolf was seen on multiple cameras in the area in the weeks leading up to June 22.

Rocky Mountain Wild and the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance

Colorado Parks & Wildlife has tracked the reintroduced wolves, and published findings on a map updated monthly. Those maps, though, have only indicated wolf movement within watershed boundaries.

Wolves have not yet crossed south of I-70.

So, what does this wolf sighting mean for Colorado, and for the future of wolves in the state? We took those questions to Dr. Stefan Ekernas, the director of Colorado field conservation for the Denver Zoo’s Conservation Alliance. This is what we learned:

Will wolves stay on Vail Pass?

In the short term, it’s hard to tell, Ekernas said. The reintroduced wolves are still in a “feeling-out” phase exploring the state for habitats, he said.

In the longterm, though, Vail Pass and the surrounding area is a good candidate for sustained wolf activity. The wolf seen in the June photos is the 13th species of carnivore captured on Colorado Corridors Project cameras nearby. Its cameras have seen moose, elk, deer, mountain lions and more.

Rocky Mountain Wild and the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance

The Eagle’s Nest Wilderness Area, which is made up of 133,000 acres north and northeast of I-70 at Vail Pass, is a good habitat for elk, which are important for wolves, Ekernas said.

Rocky Mountain Wild and the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance

“We suspect that there is a really good prey base [in the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness],” he told Denver7 on Friday. “I would suspect that in the long term [...] that we will get a good number of wolves [there]. That would be my expectation.”

CPW spokesman Travis Duncan told Denver7 the agency would not speculate on whether wolves would stay in the area.

Vail Pass is a candidate for a wildlife crossing

In addition to his work with the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Dr. Ekernas is the vice chair of the board for Summit County Safe Passages, a group advocating for wildlife crossings in Summit County.

The wolf sighting, he said, validates the work being done by that group and by the Colorado Corridors Project.

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“We've done a lot of modeling to figure out where we should have wildlife crossings, and where they should be located where they'd be most valuable,” Ekernas said. “And East Vail Pass kept coming up as a site that's really high-value, both for wildlife and where we could put in wildlife crossings cost effectively.”

I-70 is known to be a barrier for wildlife, as “it splits landscapes in half,” according to Ekernas. But it also poses a danger for motorists.

• VIDEO: Hear Ekernas react to the wolf sighting on Vail Pass

Wolf seen on Vail Pass camera near I-70: What it means, according to an expert

Colorado sees about 4,000 crashes between vehicles and wildlife each year, costing the state as much as $80 million in medical costs, property damage and lost recreation, Ekernas said.

Summit County Safe Passages has created conceptual designs for a set of wildlife crossings between Copper Mountain and the top of Vail Pass. The group has received $2 million in funding for the idea and is “cautiously optimistic” about more funding being approved by the federal government, Ekernas said.

Designs are 60% complete – something Ekernas said is a milestone in infrastructure projects. Even if federal funding comes, it would likely be years before a wildlife crossing in the area became a reality.

Summit County Safe Passages

Two other Colorado wildlife crossing projects – on I-25 near Castle Rock and a series of crossings near Durango – received federal funding last year.

Will wolves cross over to the south of I-70?

Ekernas believes wolves “would have a really hard time crossing I-70” without the presence of wildlife crossings.

It’s a hypothesis based in part on previous species reintroductions in Colorado.

The Canada Lynx population reintroduced in the San Juan mountains, for example, has been spotted on cameras near I-70 at least eight times but has not established a breeding population on the other side of the highway.

Wildlife crossings would make it more likely, though wolves’ exact use of them is unclear. Data exists that shows different species prefer different types of crossings. Elk, for example, almost exclusively use overpasses in order to maintain a clear line of sight toward potential predators. Data on wolves’ preference isn’t as clear, Ekernas said.

CPW said it is "certainly possible" wolves could travel south of I-70.

"Wolves are habitat generalists, meaning they do not have specific habitat requirements that determine where they can live," Duncan told Denver7 in an email. "As long as prey is available, wolves can use a variety of areas."

It’s worth noting, too, that wolves could be reintroduced south of the interstate in the future.

Colorado’s initial wolf plan included the possibility of a second reintroduction site after the program’s first year. One of those locations is south of I-70 east of Gunnison, along the Highway 50 corridor between Monarch Pass and Montrose.

Should people be worried about a wolf on Vail Pass?

Vail Pass is a popular spot for recreation, and a few miles in either direction from mountain communities and ski areas.

Wolf encounters with people, though, are uncommon, Ekernas said.

“Wolves tend to really dislike being near people,” he said. “They're really creatures of the wilderness, and tend to stay away from people.”

He also noted the lack of livestock in the area. As of this writing, CPW had documented 26 wolf depredations since their reintroduction in the state, all of which involved livestock like sheep and cows.

• VIDEO: Colorado's wolf conflict coordinator and ranchers work to find common ground

Colorado's wolf conflict coordinator and ranchers work to find common ground

There were no documented attacks by wolves on people in North America between 1900 and 2000, according to Colorado’s reintroduction plan.

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